


How Do You Love Someone?

by NobodyWarshipsSolangeloLikeIDo



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Child Abuse, Drug Abuse, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Self-Harm, Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-20 21:58:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2444624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyWarshipsSolangeloLikeIDo/pseuds/NobodyWarshipsSolangeloLikeIDo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anastasia Shadow had a dark past, one that she never revealed to anyone. Lately, something snapped.<br/>No, snapped isn't the right word. More like turned to dust.<br/>The reason why I'd say turn to dust is because Anastasia was already shattered, she had been broken for the first time many, many years ago.<br/>Now that she is naught but dust she has been sent to a place filled with it, where she'd fit in nicely. Young Criminal Reformation Camp, Colorado, California, America.</p>
<p>Will Anastasia take this place by storm? Will she destroy every hopeful and decent spirit in this place?</p>
<p>Or will she finally find a group of people who understand her, who care and for some fucking reason like her?</p>
<p>I'm not sure, all I know is that Anastasia will fight tooth and nail to prevent her natural hair growing through and these scars from healing. Why? Because she's a soldier, a fighter, a survivor and she's not letting anybody into her heart or soul.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet Anastasia.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my first fanfiction. I've been inspired by so many other fanfiction and I've decided to write my own, this is my first AU. I don't own anything, please let me know what you think!
> 
> Oh and swearing, I've tried my best to make things as detailed as I could but if you see an area of improvement- let me know!
> 
> Also, I'm English, so sorry for any mistakes!

The bus jerked to a stop and the driver cursed with a thick, California accent, "Stupid fucking piece of shit!" a faint _thunk_ was heard and it could be assumed he'd kicked some part of the vehicle. More cursing was heard, probably due to the moron driver hurting himself.

Anastasia rolled her eyes and fanned herself some more, she didn't have time for this. She'd melt before actually serving her time here. Wherever 'here' was.

 "Alright, you little shit, your walking. Now get the fuck out of my bus." The driver pulled the doors open and threw her bags outside, they landed with a thud. Anastasia rolled her eyes.

 "Well, at least now I don't have to put up with your shit driving." She stood up, her rich, southern British accent ringing throughout the broken down bus. Anastasia strode over to the door, her messy, un-brushed, choppy and wild dyed hair flowing behind her like some sort of mentally deranged rainbow. Her hair was naturally ebony, dark than her deeds and blacker than her heart but she had dyed it over the years. Now it was a mental arrange of colours, from the pastels to the neons. It wasn't even like one strand of hair was the same colour, it would vary, adding onto the crazy look. Not a single black hair was to be found.

 She jumped out of the bus, turning around to only glare at the driver. Anastasia had the kind of face that, if you caught her at the right moment, she could look like royalty or an angel but she generally wore a glare, sneer or an eerily blank look. She has cheekbones which sport a dusting of freckles but never a blush, full rosy lips set in a permanent frown, slightly arched eyebrows which were the only clue as to what her natural hair colour is, large blue-purple eyes that were narrowed so often they lost their 'large' quality and looked far thinner than what they truly were. Her eyelashes where a thick framing for the windows to her soul, not that she had one. She had sold that long ago. Her nose was up-turned, adding onto her posh sort of appearance and those freckles could be seen very well against her ghastly pale skin.

Anastasia pointed an index at the driver, "I fucking hope you dehydrate, you vile piece of shit." She turned back around and picked up her bag, setting off in the direction the bus had been travelling. The driver swore at her, not that she cared, she just stuck up her two fingers and walked on.

 She had no-idea where she was going. None at all but she wouldn't allow anyone else to know that, she had too much pride. Or rather, that's what she _wanted_ people to think because if someone thought she was proud and full of herself, it's easier to destroy them. It's easier to make them hate her.

 Anastasia's black stiletto heels began to gather dust from the sand in this seemingly never-ending desert. Anastasia was suddenly thankful she'd dressed lightly because the heat was really starting to beat down on her, not allowing herself to sweat she opened her bag and took a swig from one of the many water bottles she had swiped from the bus before it's break-down. Her ripped, black skinny jeans were held up by a chain which had her old house keys attached. She wore a tight black tank top and a thin black cardigan over it.

  _Maybe I should tie my cardigan around my waist_ , she thought, it'd cool her down a bit, not much, but a bit. Deciding against it she took another drink.

 Her bag was big enough to carry a dead body in, she re-adjusted it on her other shoulder and took her thick choker off for a moment, feeling the scars that were embedded onto her neck she sighed and came to a stop.

  _What the fuck did I do to deserve this?_

 She put her choker back on just as she heard someone shouting. Two figures were hurtling toward her, they were twins by the looks of it. They were as tall as Anastasia in her heels, had brown curly hair and even an idiot wouldn't trust them.

 They had troublemaker written all over those faces which were now sporting shit-eating grins as they spotted Anastasia.

 "Looky here, Con, who's this girlie?" One of them asked as they came to a stop in-front of her.

 "Dunno, maybe she's the new chick? She's a looker, I'll give you that, Trav." 'Con' said.

 Anastasia rolled her eyes before walking past the boys.

 "Aw, hey hey, gorgeous, what'cha doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on a- Holy shit, man!" 'Trav' swore as a large SUV swerved and came to a stop in-front of the trio.

 The window was wound down and a bored looking blonde stuck his head out the window, "Get your fucking asses in the damn car or else I'll fucking leave you to get eaten by the bobcats." He drawled, he had blue eyes that just seemed to bore unto you, like he could really give not give any less fucks about you.

 The driver leaned forward and smiled warmly, his curly blonde hair like a halo (Anastasia snorted at the thought) and warm blue eyes like the summer sky. "Hello, I'm Will Solace- this broody blonde here is Octavian Solace and those two are Conner and Travis Stoll. We live at the Young Criminal Reformation Camp down the road, that's where you're headed, right? I mean, unless you're lost." The twins had climbed into the back of the car by the time Will had finished speaking and Anastasia was already wondering how he could say 'Young Criminal Reformation Camp' whilst smiling like a saint.

 "No, I'm capable of walking, I don't need a ride from an arsehole and Mr. fucking sunshine. Nor do I wish to share a backseat with those twins, I'm scared their very presence may lower my IQ." Anastasia walked around the SUV, she felt a door open but didn't bother to look.

 She felt a hand on her wrist, without turning around, she came to a stop. If she wasn't so damn hot, tired and hungry she would've ripped this guy apart by now. "Hey, it's pretty dangerous out here on your own, not to mention it's really hot. I'd be happier knowing you were inside the much cooler SUV rather than burning like a witch out here."

Rolling her eyes, Anastasia turned her head a notch, so she could only just see Will smiling at her like he actually cared. Which was a weird thing for Anastasia, seeing as no-one cared for or about her. The only living thing that had cared for her was her dog, Losker and Anastasia doesn't like to think about what happened to her.

Because despite popular belief back in England, Anastasia does have something of a heart.

Just as Anastasia was about to tell Solace to piss off he added, "You have a beautiful accent." Anastasia gaped at him, she was not expecting that.

 "Are you having a fucking laugh?" She turned to face the male, glaring at him Anastasia took a step forward. "You better watch your mouth, sunshine or else I'll rip out your fucking spine, jackass." Putting a foot back, Anastasia gathered up enough power and punched him square in the face, he stumbled backwards and held his nose.

There were snorts from the car and a surprised gasp escaped the male who was now sporting a bloodied nose.

"So, uh, you can drive, if that makes you feel better?" Anastasia turned to the speaker, he was wearing a grin and a tissue to clean up the blood spilling from his nose, she couldn't believe that, even after being punched, this Will guy was still smiling at her as if she complimented his very existence.

"Are you fucking retarded?" She looked at the blonde like an idiot before draining the rest of her drink and setting off toward the camp, she could hear protests and pleas for her to get in the SUV so she did the most logical thing she could think off.

She turned around, walked toward the front of the van and put her fist through the window, Octavian glared at her, disgust and hatred written all over his face and the twins just cheered after getting over their initial shock. Anastasia picked up a large piece of broken glass and waltzed over to Will.

"Want to be helpful? Slit your fucking throat." She threw the piece off glass at him, which he caught like an expert, not one cut. While walking away, she pocketed the smaller piece of glass she took off the bonnet of the car.

Realising she still held the empty water bottle in her hand, she threw it behind her, hoping and praying to God that it did at least _some_ damage to the idiot of a blonde behind her.

Anastasia raked her hands through her hair and allowed them to cling to the back of her neck, _where the fuck am I?_

She pulled her stolen iPod out, plugged her earphones in and played her music.

 _White Rabbit_ by _Egypt Central_ started to play, Anastasia was so far off in her own world and in the music, that she didn't bother looking behind her. She didn't see the sad look on Will's face as he wondered what had happened to Anastasia for her to act the way she does and he wondered about those scars, barely visible due to her choker.

And since Anastasia did not turn around, or look in any direction other than forward, she most certainly _did not_ see that bobcat watching her from the hills, getting more and more pissed the further she walked onto it's territory.


	2. I Owe You Nothing.

She barely turned around quick enough to catch the bobcat by it's chest and throw it to the ground a few feet away, unfortunately, the cathad enough time to sink it's claws into her cardigan. So when the cat hit the ground, so did most of Anastasia's cardigan and now there was nothing but a back and a few rags keeping it on her shoulders.

"Shit, what a fucker- I needed that cardigan!" Anastasia cursed as the bobcat crawled back up and stalked closer to it's prey. She wasn't afraid though, Anastasia had lived through absolute hell, her father has beaten her, her mother has neglected and attempted to drug and kill her, her brother has raped her more times then she can remember (probably due to the fact he'd rape her in her sleep, too) and at school...

Well, let's just say school was hell, too.

The cat pounced and Anastasia took out the glass she pocketed only an hour or two ago and drove it into the neck of the beast. Now, had this been a human, this tactic would have been very effective but since this was _not_ a human it wasn't so effective. Actually, the only thing the small shard of glass had succeeded in doing is pissing the bobcat off even further.

There was a low growling but Anastasia wasn't about to cower from a fucking wildcat. Said cat crouched and wiggled it's backside before pouncing-

"Try me, you little bitch!" Anastasia screamed, taking stance and preparing for the on-coming attack.

The on-coming attack which never came.

The large SUV swerved (for the second fucking time) knocking the bobcat to the ground during mid-pounce, the cat hissed, gave a weird (almost girly) roar-thing and glared at the offending vehicle like ' _What the fuck are you, man? I'm trying to slice this chick and you're totally ruinin' ma swag. Not cool dude, not cool._ ' but in a really thick, California accent.

The thought made Anastasia mentally giggle for now she had the image of surfers with long blonde hair, no shirt and no brains.

Suddenly Anastasia was being ripped from her thoughts by two pairs of hands which then continued to throw her into the SUV. Normally, she would have ripped said hands off and eaten the owners alive but since she wanted to get to camp quickly so no-one saw her bare arms she allowed such man-handling.

"Damn, gorgeous, that was close!" Travis, Anastasia thought, said.

"What happened to your arms?" Will asked, concerned.

Anastasia cursed, attempting to cover her arms up. She had scars, burn-marks and bruises smothering her arms and over those she had tattoos, each of them telling a story.

"I got tattoos, what the fuck do you think happened?" She hissed at the male.

"I didn't realise tattoos came in the form of burn-marks and bruises." Octavian supplied and Anastasia was two seats away from punching him.

"Come-on, we saved you, you owe us!" The twins chimed together, Anastasia spat on them.

Yes, she actually _spat_ on them, "I owe you fuck all."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, maybe we should throw your bag out the fucking window. Since _we_ owe you _'fuck all'_ either." The moody blonde from the passenger seat said, quoting Anastasia as he spoke.

 _Damn,_ she thought, _I need that pissing bag, why'd he have to be such a dick?_ Then  Anastasia realised people probably though she was a dick, too, not that she cared. Nope, she stopped caring about such things years ago, about the time she first snapped and started to self harm.

Not that all the scars where from self harm, no, they all had their story.

"Well, fuck you too, jackarse." Anastasia grumbled, glaring at the offending blonde, "And are all Americans shit drivers?" She just had to add that in, the more these guys disliked her, the better.

"I'm pretty sure it's _jackass_ and coming from the chick with the crazy hair, no sense of survival and the most irritatingly posh voice on the planet? I'd say we're better off than you are."

Perhaps the blonde didn't realise how right his words were, they were just a shot in the dark but Anastasia shifted uncomfortably at the slightly familiar words.

_//FLASHBACK//_

_"Look at you, you vile piece of shit, you're such a crazy fucker! Speaking of fucking, you lads seen the rack this lasses packin'? I bet they're fake, she looks like a fuckin' prostitute!" Luke Cartwright howled with laughter, along with his gang of thick-headed arseholes. Anastasia tried to fight back the tears as she was ripped from the ground which they had previously beaten her on._

_"I bet she loves a fuck, I'll bet you my dick she's such a slut in bed- beggin' for someone to fill her needy hole, just like the right slutty, attention-seekin' bitch she is." Dylan Foster wasted no time in ripping her clothes off until she was as naked as the day she was born._

_Anastasia whimpered as she attempted to cover herself, her arms were ripped from their positions and pulled behind her back harshly, her shoulder dislocating and her wrist spraining in the process._

_"What a crazy bitch. Come-on, scream with that little posh voice of yours, I want to hear you beg, you little slut." Luke took a step forward and roughly pushed three fingers straight into her, no lubrication or preparation. Anastasia just barely held back a scream as he pulled his fingers out, only to push them back in, just as roughly as the first time. Dylan and the boy holding her arms, Kaine Holt, pushed their victim to the ground and Dylan grabbed her legs, pulling them apart as Luke pulled his already-hard cock out._

_"Watch this little bitch scream, get the knife out, Kay."_

_//END OF FLASHBACK//_

"...This is Chiron, I guess you could say he was our adoptive father..." An unrecognisable voice rang out as Anastasia snapped back to the real world only to find herself surrounded by fresh faces. A lot of fresh faces.

"I really don't give a fuck, now, can I go?" Anastasia had no-idea how she got here, when she got here or where _here_ was; all she really cared about was leaving before anyone caught on to the fact that she was clueless about her surroundings.

She seemed to be in some sort of hall with table and chairs scattered across the large room. There weren't enough people to fill all the chairs, despite the fact there were an awful lot of people.

"No, you ungrateful little fucker, you'll stay here and meet everyone or you'll fuck off back to your own country." Some fat man with a purple face an Hawaiian shirt sneered, he had a glass of larger in one hand and a bottle of shandy in the other.

 _Ew, does he mix that?_ Anastasia scolded herself for such childish thoughts, she was a soldier, not an angelic school girl. Actually, she couldn't get any farther from an angelic school girl.

"I apologise for Mr. D, why don't we start with Luke?" A middle aged man spoke up, gesturing to another blue-eyed blonde, this one had a scar and a bored look on his face. "Start with your full name, age, why you're here and a little bit about your life before."

'Luke' rolled his eyes, "My name is Luke Castellan-" Anastasia loathed his name, it sounded too much like Luke Cartwright and before she knew it she was comparing the two names.

"Castellan, Cartwright, Ca-st-ell-an, Car-t-wri-ght, Ca-a-a-st-e-l-l-an, Car-r-r-t-wr-i-ght, Ca-s-s-t-"

"What the fuck are you doing?" Luke looked at Anastasia like she was growing a third breast.

"None of your fucking business, thick shit." Luke looked surprised at her sudden out-lash but quickly recovered with narrowed eyes.

"I'm twenty and I'm in here for manipulating eight people to murder each other and then themself." Anastasia wore a blank face as he continued, "My mother was a crack addict and my dad was never around, I've also served several years for maiming a number or individuals."

 _Heard and done worse._ Anastasia thought with a bitter satisfaction.

"I'm Octavian Solace eighteen, Will's brother and I'm in here because I practise my torture methods on animals first." He said all of this without looking up from his book, Silence of the Lambs.

"I'm Hazel Levesque and I'm in here for burying sex offenders alive. I'm fifteen and I used to live with my mom." A dark-skinned girl with an old-fashioned feel about her spoke, she had frizzy brown hair and golden eyes which sparked with innocence, Hazel smiled kindly at Anastasia who still had a blank look on her face.

_Who the fuck are these people? Torturers, manipulaters and people who can say they bury other people alive whilst smiling innocently. Holy shit, this is hell and I'm going to die here._

"I'm Jason Grace and I'm in here for electrocuting my father, brother and grandfather. I'm twenty and before I was in here I was in jail; my brother framed me for rape." Jason was another fucking blonde, Anastasia was getting sick of looking at them, he had a scar on his lip from fuck knows what (Anastasia refuses to care) and of course he had sky-blue eyes. Although, unlike Luke and Octavian's ice blue and Will's summer-sky, Jason's eyes seemed more like a deep-sky blue and they fucking _sparked_ with something or other. It seemed to be either amusement or that mocking look you get when you're about to rip someone apart.

"Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, tortue of my ex-boyfriend who cheated on me, I'm also twenty and before this I was living with said boyfriend." Reyna had long dark hair and the face of a soldier, she was beautiful in a strict kick-your-arse sort of way. Her eyes were cold and judging, Anastasia wanted to shake the hand of whichever dick thought cheating on this lass was a good idea.

"Seventeen, Leo Valdez, I used to live with my mom but after a freak fire accident I lived between foster homes. I'm in here because I'm an arsonist. I may have hi-jacked a few cars too, but that's beside the point." A small, scrawny Latino boy said, he had dark curly hair, elfish features and Anastasia shouldn't have found him nearly as adorable as she did.

 _Aw, he looks like a really hyperactive four-year old!_ Mentally slapping herself Anastasia crossed her arms and made sure her blank expression was in place.

A bell sounded through the large hall and Anastasia did a quick, once over of the room before anyone had time to notice. She saw large dotted curtains hanging by the windows, the tables and chairs now seemed to have a sort of order, she supposed you could call it and a huge chandelier hung fro the ceiling. At the back of the hall there was a huge stage, for whatever reason, Anastasia did not care.

"We'll have to continue this another time, for now, off to work!" Chiron called out, "Hazel, Annabeth, Piper and Anastasia, you'll be working in pairs. Drew, Thalia, Rachel and Silena will also be working together. Clarisse, Ethan, Chris and Charles will be paired. Percy, Will, Conner and Reyna. Jason, Travis, Luke and Grover. Nico, Bianca, Octavian and Leo. Frank, Malcolm, Jake and Lou Ellen."

The members of the hall descended into he groups of four and then again into pairs. Soon enough, Anastasia was surrounded by Hazel, another dark-skinned girl, although she was considerably lighter than Hazel, she had choppy hair with a braid and feather in. Her eyes seemed to change colour and Anastasia swore she had been checked out by the girl. The finale to join the three was another _mother-fucking blonde_.

Though thankfully, she one had grey eyes.

"What the fuck is it with America and blondes?"

"What the fuck is it with you and your fucking accent?" Octavian glared from a small while away, next to him was Leo and two other people Anastasia assumed to be Nico and Bianca. Nico was about Anastasia's hight, very pale, messy, dark hair, rings under his dark and brooding eyes and he looked underweight. Bianca had the same dark hair except it was pulled into a tame braid, she had no bags under her eyes and looked to be a healthy weight.

"I'm fucking English, you absolute fucktard." Anastasia spat back, taking a step closer.

"Well we're fucking blonde, get the fuck over yourself, just because you're new it doesn't mean I'm going to put up with any of your shit."

"Like I'm supposed to put up with yours? Practising torture methods on animals my arse, what were they, stuffed toys?" She mocked, sneering and stepping closer as she spoke.

"What the fuck are you even in here for? Because as far as I know, you're all talk."

That was Anastasia's last draw.


	3. I Just Want To Be Heard.

Blood stained their hands, cries of terror and amusement seeped into their ears, limbs tangled, blades and weapons were made from hands and feet and teeth and joints.

Anastasia grabbed the blonde's hair and slammed his head into the floor, once, twice, three- Anastasia's eyes locked with Octavian's, she let go of his hair and stared into those confused, angry and tormented eyes.

For some reason, a one she cannot explain, Anastasia didn't want to fight anymore. She didn't want to prove a point, _wait, what was my point to begin with?_

Octavian's eyes searched Anastasia's blank ones, then he picked his blade from where it had fallen and started to gut the young lady straddling his lap when she surprised not only him and the whole room, but herself with a question.

"Did you get bullied?"

Octavain furrowed his eyebrows, giving her a dirty look.

"Who the fuck are you? What sort of person, psychopath or not, asks something like _that_ whilst in a fight?" The blonde was sporting four gashes across his left cheek, a bloodied nose, two bald patches, a bite mark on his neck and just below his ear and a bruise on his forehead which was off centre.

Anastasia had a bite mark on her collar bone, a gnash on her throat which had cut through her choker, four bruises on her face (a black eye, her cheekbone, her left temple and her right-side jaw), a bust lip, a cut across the cheek with a bruise and most of her side-fringe was now scattered across the floor. So now her fringe stopped just above her left eye.

She was about ready to tell him that she wasn't a psychopath but decided against it and stood up, the knife which Octavian had previously been using to gut Anastasia was still embedded in her stomach, she merely pulled it out and walked toward the exit of the hall. Nothing other than the clicking of her heels could be heard in the duration of that time, they were all too shocked to say anything.

Once she was out of the hall and back to the familiar desert she took off running, holding her stomach and willing herself to stay conscious and to not be sick. Finally she found a spot behind a few large tents, after making sure she was alone she doubled over in pain and emptied the contents of her damaged stomach. Her eyes watered as she fell to her knees and clutched the wounded area.

Despite all those years of never ending pain, Anastasia never got used to it, if anything, it only doubled every time an injury was inflicted upon her. Anastasia wouldn't sob or cry or shed a tear through this, the day she did that was the day she was fixed, the day she was cured.

Because although physical pain hurt more and more, the mental pain was non-existent.

With nothing to bandage the wound Anastasia just applied pressure and wondered if she'd die like this.

"Let me help you." Will sounded like he was talking to a scared, wounded and very dangerous animal. Which would have been safer then telling Anastasia to 'let him help her'. The wounded stared at Will with a blank face, _when did he get here? How come I never heard him?_

"No."

It was too late, he was already taking her by the upper-arm and leading her to another tent, the only reason the blue-purple eyed girl didn't break every bone in the summer-sky eyed boy was because if she let up on the pressure she'd bleed and besides, she was intrigued as to why the boy was so keen on helping and being nice to her.

This tent was slightly smaller then the one she had been hiding behind, it had six beds inside, three on the right and three on the left. It had cabinets with medicine and first aid kits in as well as clipboards at the end of each bed. Anastasia assumed this was the sick room (or tent?) and snorted.

Will led Anastasia to the bed closest then quickly whizzed away to get a first aid kit. He came back moments later and looked at Anastasia expectingly.

"I can't treat you very well if you're standing up."

"I don't care." Anastasia shifted her weight, as if she was just about to trust some random stranger to treat her- no matter how desperate she was.

Will sighed before smiling brightly, he pulled Anastasia down onto the bed, to which she put up no fight and pried her hands away from the wound. Will started to pull Anastasia's tank top off and the panic welled up.

"What the fuck are you doing!" She pushed him away and sat up, regretting it instantly as she hunched over with pain Anastasia still managed to glare at Will.

"Treating you. I won't hurt you, I promise, it may sting but that can't be helped, sorry." Although it sounded genuine and honest Anastasia had learned to not trust anyone the hard way. Anastasia merely sneered and glared at Will some more.

"And what, you need to remove my fucking shirt to do so?" Will was about to reply when someone, a new voice, cut in.

"It's pretty fucking annoying, isn't it? I thought the same thing when I first came here but then I realised he just liked looking at my naked or half naked body. Which means you have nothing to worry about, Will likes dick, he has no interest in your curvy body parts." Anastasia turned to see that Nico boy. He looked rather like death standing in the entrance with his arms crossed and a small barely noticeble smile on his face.

It was affectionate and somewhat comforting.

"Yes well it's not my fault you're so fucking thin, I do try and besides, I've managed to make you much more social. When you first came here you would do nothing but scowl at everyone." Will joked, a slightly flirty tone to his voice.

"No fucking wonder, have you seen the mentalists in this place?" Nico walked over to Will, swinging his hips slightly- it was hypnotic and Anastasia is sure that Nico knew that.

Anastasia just stared at the two as they started to bicker, or rather, as Will smiled brightly and made comments on Nico's behaviour and Nico rolled his eyes. Finally Will chuckled and reached over to push Anastasia back down, she was slightly reassured by what Nico said but she was still cautious of it being a lie.

"So, Anastasia, do you make a habit of getting into fights?" Will tried to converse as he took Anastasia tank off, she willed herself to not shake. She was in a vulnerable state and wasn't sure if she could fight off a rape attack. Will raised an eyebrow when she didn't answer which looked pretty weird seeing as he was still smiling.

"Will's in here for being a part of a scheme to steal money from Politician and Accountant's bank accounts to found the med-school he worked at which was producing illegal drugs which could start an outbreak of a life-threatening version of bone Cancer that is incurable and immune to most vaccinations and cures. He's not a rapist, he's just a mental healer who wants to see people suffer just so he can try and fix them again." Nico sat at the end of the bed which Anastasia was lying down on.

"Is that supposed to fucking calm me down?" Anastasia smiled internally, thinking that it was a pretty weird thing for him to do. Will pouted but it was short-lived as he broke into his usual grin.

"Hmm, I've noticed something very interesting about you, Anastasia." Anastasia had no-idea how he knew her name, she could remember telling him. She narrowed her eyes as he continued with, "You pronounce every syllable in a word, and you say your 'A' as 'AR' and you really put an emphasise on your 'O'. Which part of England do you come from?"

"Southern." Anastasia waited patiently for the mocking that always came.

"But I've never heard a Southern English accent like yours." Nico commented, raising an eyebrow. Anastasia sighed internally.

"I know, I'm the only one." She wasn't sure how Nico knew the Southern English accent since he lived in America and had an Italian accent which was barely hinted at but still there and she didn't ask. The less she seemed to care, the better.

"How come you talk like that then, if it's not an accent?" Will had cleaned the wound and was in the middle of stitching when he gave Anastasia a curious look.

Anastasia stayed silent, she didn't have to answer any of their questions, it was none of their business and even if it where she still wouldn't say. She doesn't really know how to, she's never opened up to anyone before, she's only ever hid behind her bruises and cuts and hair, covering up her secrets with well thought-out disguises and dressings.

Will had finished stitching and re-cleaning the wound, "Get me some ice, please Nico." Will asked, affection in his voice, even at the most simple of things. Anastasia wondered if he just had a dangerously big crush on the pale boy or if the two were a couple. Either way, Anastasia wanted to gag just looking at them.

She didn't, of course, instead she held back her jealously that no-one ever looked or spoke to her like that. She mentally berated herself for thinking such things, _I don't need some sloppy romance, I'm a fucking soldier, not a wanton teenage slut bag._

Nico received the ice without a reply but he did stand infront of Will whilst he worked on Anastasia's bruise. 

"How am I going to work with you in my way?" He wrapped an arm around the smaller convict who just smirked and shrugged.

"Deal with it, asswipe." Nico turned his head to place a single kiss on the underside of Will's jaw. Definetaly a couple, Anastasia thought bitterly.

And they just had to rub their love and happiness in her face.

With a blank face, Anastasia said, "I just want to be heard."

Will's bright smile turned to a soft one and although Nico didn't wear a smile, his eyes did soften.

"We hear you."


	4. I Envy You.

Anastasia was taken aback by how natural she felt around Will and Nico. It scared her, she'd been here for no-more then three maybe four hours and she felt like she belonged.

Probably because she did belong, this was a camp for young _criminals_ after all, and what was she? _A_ _young criminal_.

She looked at the couple with a blank face as the healer, Will, continued to fix her up.

"So, why _are_ you here?" Nico would pepper a few kisses along Will's jawline every now and again, as if to remind the blonde that his boyfriend was still there and still loved him. Anastasia was tarn between extreme and dangerous envy and running away to hide in a hole and pretend love never existed.

"It's hardly any of your business."

"You just said you want to be heard, now we're listening you don't want to talk?"

Anastasia couldn't look at Nico or Will, it burned her eyes. Her heart. Her mind.

But it didn't so much as prickle her soul, why, she did not know but she assumed it was because her soul knew not of emotion.

"Am I ready to go?" She didn't wait for an answer and instead just left in search of refuge in the form of solitude. Anastasia ignored the now dull throbbing in the stitches she received and continued to walk around the camp without a guide or slightest idea where to go.

The camp had a dried up lake running through it, mountains slightly off to the side and tents scattered around. There were an assortment of tents in a horse-shoe pattern with numbers above the entry, in the middle was a make-shift fire place which consisted of a two foot stone wall surrounding a ditch with coal and the occasional twig inside. Turning around Anastasia saw the healer tents which she had came from, there was only one but it was big. Then, a little while away was the large house with the SUV and a motorbike parked outside.

Tearing her eyes away from the tempting bike, Anastasia marched through the tents and out to the other side where she nearly fell off the edge. Looking down and then back, she came the the realisation that the whole camp was on a cliff and down below she saw the other campers by the large lake which was connected to the river running through the camp by a waterfall. 

"I have decided you will not be joining them today." Anastasia started, nearly falling off the cliff, she straightened up with a blank face and turned to the voice after taking a good few steps away from the edge.

_Damn, I'm losing my shit! How did I not hear him coming, fuck you Anastasia, you fucking arse. Keep your guard up!_

"I feel like you will need longer to settle and therefore I will be assigning you a guide, once you are settled and your violent tendencies are under control then you may join the other campers in work."

"I'd rather jump off the fucking cliff."

Chiron looked thoughtful, as if he were considering the options of dealing with Anastasia or getting rid of her. "No need, Thalia is very friendly, I'm sure you two will get along great. Now come back to the main house with me and you two can be off."

Anastasia rolled her eyes and sat on the cliff edge, she was through with co-operation. She heard Chiron sigh and walked off toward his destination, the main house.

Anastasia let herself fall back while her legs dangled, closing her eyes she let the memories flood. If she reminisced on the past, she could be bitter and it's be easier for her to be a bitch, to wear a mask and remember what she had to do in order to survive. Despite finding her past terrifying she thoroughly believed if she re-lived it enough, it would become less scary.

How wrong she was.

_//FLASHBACK//_

_The four year old whimpered as she stood in the dark,_ where am I? Why has daddy left me here, I tried to be a good girl, I really did. _Anastasia thought as she limped through the darkness of the streets. The lights where out, it was cold and thunder could be heard from above as it began to rain Anastasia sought refuge in a run-down warehouse behind a few rows of housing. As she passed the houses she could see children playing with their parents, putting cookies and milk out for Santa and hanging their stockings._

"This Christmas, Santa, this Christmas I want my mammy and daddy and big brother to love me. I want them to play nice and be proud of me. I want to be happy and fixed and not bruised or hurting or broken this Christmas. Can I have that?" _Anastasia begged the big red man every Christmas for the same thing. To not hurt. To be fixed. To have a home and a family which love her._

_And each Christmas she was awoken to her brother's hard manhood buried deep into her small and fragile frame, except Anastasia didn't know if she'd be going to that house so she didn't think she'd wake to such a bad morning.  
_

"Maybe if you can't do it Santa, maybe God or Jesus can." _She prayed once more as she crawled through a hole in the wall of the warehouse. The inside would have been large if it wasn't so broken and the walls and roofing weren't collapsing. Looking around Anastasia saw a little dog, no bigger then both of her hands cupped, hiding under some old machinery on the other side of the room. The dog was young looking and fragile, it was a grey colour with a brown head and tufts of fur at it's nose. The little four year old crawled closer to the pup, whispering words of reassurance and comfort._

_From out her pocket she pulled some crackers which she managed to snatch before being ripped from the warmth or the house she had previously resided in. She held out a cracker for the pup who inched closer to gratefully and ever-so gently take the cracker and munch on it happily._

_Anastasia got closer to the pup and curled around him._ "I'm going to name you... Um, Losker." _The pup cuddled closer to the small child in agreement and acceptance. Before the dreamlands whisked the two of them away Anastasia gave the little dog another cracker and patted his head for good measure._

"I'll keep you safe, little Losker."

_//END OF FLASHBACK//_

Anastasia heard footsteps come her way as she snapped out of her daze, she opened her eyes as the noise came to a stop and dust feathered over her hair.

"Anastasia Shadows, aren't you gonna be a handful?" A girl with black punk-styled hair, topped off with a blue streak and punk-clothing grinned from above her. Her eyes were like Jason Grace's, blue with that spark of something amusing. "I'm Thalia Grace, Jason's big sister. I'm twenty two."

"Oh my." Anastasia sneered at Thalia. "Am I in trouble? Did I piss Chiron off by not following like a good little puppy?"

Unlike Octavian Solace who would have sneered and gave a bitchy comeback, Nico who would have raised an eyebrow or even Will who would've smiled kindly and insisted he help her, Thalia just burst into laughter.

"Narh, it's hard to piss Chiron off but you really riled up Mr. D. Christ, I'm glad we've got some fresh blood in the camp, it's been like, two- maybe three- years since anyone new came! The newest person to have come before you was Lou Ellen." Thalia knelt down to hover above Anastasia's face. "She's in here for successfully causing the riot which allowed Jason to escape jail. She was put in jail for murder."

"Why are you telling me this? I don't care." Anastasia glared and sneered at the Grace sibling, willing her away.

Her will was left undone. "Yes you do."

"How the fuck would you know what I do and do not care about?" Anastasia demanded, her temper rising.

"Because when I first came here I was in the same way you are right now." Anastasia narrowed her eyes at the statement, Thalia elaborated with, "I was raped by my grandfather, father and brother, I had no friends at school and I lashed out at anyone who got close to me. Six years ago, when I was sixteen I was doped up on drugs, mainly LSD and Ecstasy. It's a miracle I survived. Anyway, I was sent here for being an addicted, murder and a few other things I did whilst high. So when I came here I was itching for someone to blame, for someone to hate. Luke was emitted shortly after me and we got into a  _huge_ fight, he reminded me slightly of my brother but only through looks. They couldn't be more different personality wise." 

"The point is, that after about a month or two me and Luke where attacked by a bobcat, that's how he got his scar. Risking his neck, or rather face, as a distraction so I could neck the little fucker. I pulled Luke up and helped him to the sick tent and helped patch him up. We became best-friends after that. I stopped lashing out at people and Luke stopped acting like he couldn't give less of a fuck."

"At the time, the camp was fairly new and there were only four campers. Me, Luke, Clarisse and Chris, we were all sixteen and none of us got along. After me and Luke became friends, we found out that Clarisse and Chris were having sex, they weren't dating at the time, it was just really angry sex. Now they're dating though and the four of us haven't fought since." Once Thalia had finished talking Anastasia stood up and looked at the girl.

"As much as I'm sure I'd love to play happy family with you all, I think I'll pass." Anastasia started to walk away, toward the river which led into a waterfall.

"We're not a happy family, we still bicker and fight but it's rare and short-lived. Don't tell me you don't feel at home here, don't, not even for a moment, attempt to tell me you don't feel like you belong among us. Because I can see it in your eyes, the way you hold yourself around and your carefully thought-out words that you're looking for any fucking excuse to not love it here." Thalia had caught up with Anastasia who just barely chanced a quick glance.

"You'll be here until you die anyway, we have a strict 'No Leaving' policy." She winked. Anastasia bit back a groan.

She had to admit to herself that this place, in the seven hours that she had been here she was feeling more at home then she ever has in her entire life. Normally, Anastasia was stronger then this, normally she could with-stand much more and it would've taken at least half a year for her to even consider another person's life force or backstory.

But Anastasia was growing tired of fighting, especially when there is nothing left to fight for. With Losker gone she doesn't need to soldier on or fight for her life. Anastasia could no-longer think of a decent reason to be so closed up.

"Maybe Santa will finally get me something I want."

 

 

 


End file.
